NBC and Yahoo are still arguing which one got the largest number of online users during the Olympic Games. Well, the real winner is neither of them, but local Chinese online video sites.

DCCI (Data Centre of China Internet) estimates in a recent study that a staggering 244 million viewers, about 95.1% of China’s netizens, watched the Olympics online on one of the the nine authorized sites, such as PPS.TV, PPLive, Sohu, ku6 and UUSee.

netizens who are also Olympic fans were able to not only enjoy a high-quality video experience but also had the opportunity to watch the Beijing 2008 Olympics through their PCs anywhere and anytime.

The highest increase in online viewers occurred among the young and high-income users. With a brand loyalty of 82%, the competition for acquiring new and keeping existing online users is fierce. The main strategy is to try to take the lead and to legitimize online video and TV. This requires investment in quality offerings and for copyrights. New and fresh content is used to attract users, but also advertisers to ensure revenue streams.

The online TV sites purchase content from the CCTV channels, including the CCTV Olympics Channel.
They also offer programs on demand, which is highly attractive for advertisers for product placement.

Nike, LG, Pepsi, China Mobile, Budweiser and Merchant Bank are just a few companies that advertise their brands.

If we look at online entertainment, we see that close to 70% of the online users listen to online music, half of all online users play online games and more than 60% of all online users watch movies and TV series online (Source: Internet World Statistics). Needless to say, it provides lots of opportunities for online TV offerings.

If we look at the development of China’s online video industry, Bill Gates’ prophecy that online videos could overtake regular TV leadership in as little as five years might come true.

American businessmen and tourists, who intend to travel china and visit the Olympics Games, are at a high risk of getting hacked by local young hackers. Even the private cell phone is at risk: The hackers try to get information from the Americans who travel china, by entering their private mobile telephone.
U.S. officials have been sending strict warnings, for the sake of the Americans who plan to visit China in the nearest future.

Though the fear of hacked computers and mobiles is in fact exists, the American authorities try to quiet this information, and not to accuse the Chinese government or its army of hacking into its network. Without any valid proof, this accusation might cause an international crisis that will harm both countries.
Online spying is becoming more sophisticated and common. The young Chinese hackers are trying to copy information from the computers located at the hotels and airports. After that, they are trying to insert wireless spying software- to the Blackberry device of the selected “victim”. The Bluetooth technology is also being used in the hacking industry; the online burglars using it to still information from electrical devices.

While health warnings are published in the media, there isn’t any organization that warns the tourists on their way to china, from being hacked while visiting the Great Wall of China or watching the Olympic Games in Beijing. The online threats are lurking out there, and there is nothing to do about it.